Remanufactured 383 Question

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nikon

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jan 12, 2011
Messages
193
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

never heard of em, but I want it. Would like to see a dyno chart first though.

On a side note, how much power can an alpha 1 gen 2 handle?
 
greg82255

greg82255

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Oct 26, 2009
Messages
781
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

They are technically rated for 300 HP but lots of people run them with 383's with no problem. They say that if you use good lube and change it often and don't beat the crap out of the drive then you should be fine.
 
J

John_S

Rear Admiral
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Jun 21, 2004
Messages
4,269
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

From the parts list, doesn't sound like a 420HP build. They only claim 370hp on their vortec 383???? That's probably high, but doesn't make sense why its less. I'd ask to see the dyno sheets. Peak hp is probably coming a ways above 5K rpms.

Also, from the feedback, a few people had a 7 week wait.
 
oops!

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

i want one.......portland is not far away.....


the only thing i would add is a roller lifters.
 
45Auto

45Auto

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2,842
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

Sure looks good. Never seen a marine engine with a 7 year, unlimited hour warranty before!
 
J

John_S

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Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

45Auto said:
Sure looks good. Never seen a marine engine with a 7 year, unlimited hour warranty before!
Click to expand...

Unlimited hours, but only 70K miles. :D

You would want to find someone that has had to exercise that warranty, and how it went. ;)
 
H

HT32BSX115

Supreme Mariner
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Messages
10,083
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

45Auto said:
Sure looks good. Never seen a marine engine with a 7 year, unlimited hour warranty before!
Click to expand...

Yeah. The following people make a similar (but 500hr) claim......
..............Our warranty is 7 years since 1986 and you will be pleased to know U.S. ENGINE was the first engine company to offer this warranty, the rest just followed...................
Click to expand...
Anyone can have a great warranty.......One must carefully read the SMALL PRINT.....
 
P

Pete104

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1,439
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

I can vouch for US Marine. Friend of mine wanted to freshen up his '89 225 Celebrity. Bought their 383/350 hp. New Gen II gimbal hsg from Michiganmotoz, new Alpha Gen II from Great Lakes Skipper.
Anyway, switched all accessories, manifolds, etc. Primed the oil system, dropped the distributor & fired it up. Keeping the rpm's up during the first 20min. engine was smooth, responsive. I did this a couple times, just to watch for leaks or anything that may be a ***** to get at once installed!
I installed the engine, fired it up. Let it idle. Had a vibration! Did some checks, including double checking everthing I did. Called them up, they e-mailed a return auth BOL prepaid bothways. (chicago to kent, wash & back). They got it back & found the crank they put in it from a vendor wasn't balanced properly. New engine back & installed, 60+ hrs the guy loves it! I gave it to him late afternoon 6/3/11. Did the "break-in oil change" the morning of 6/5/11. That was like 11.8 hrs.
 
B

Bamaman1

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
1,895
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

On paper, the engine looks pretty good, however I wonder how they get so much horsepower with "normal" engine parts and carbs. Usually, you're looking at big valve (and ported) heads, large carbs, special intake manifolds and a big camshaft to get 400+ horsepower..

If you're really serious, I'd get on CompCams' 800 phone # advice line, and see what their opinion is of using this camshaft grind in marine use. Typically, you want a low RPM torque cam (with a silky idle) in a boat--like a motorhome camshaft. I'm sure CompCams and other camshaft builders have specific camshaft grinds suitable for marine use. They're known to be very accomodating to customers.

"Comp marine .462/.477 - 218/224 - 112 specs"

A quick Google of the company came up with a Better Business Bureau rating of "D". :confused: See http://www.bbb.org/oregon/business-...c-h-s-machine-company-in-portland-or-35001062
 
J

John_S

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Messages
4,269
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

Pete104 said:
I can vouch for US Marine. Friend of mine wanted to freshen up his '89 225 Celebrity. Bought their 383/350 hp. New Gen II gimbal hsg from Michiganmotoz, new Alpha Gen II from Great Lakes Skipper.
Anyway, switched all accessories, manifolds, etc. Primed the oil system, dropped the distributor & fired it up. Keeping the rpm's up during the first 20min. engine was smooth, responsive. I did this a couple times, just to watch for leaks or anything that may be a ***** to get at once installed!
I installed the engine, fired it up. Let it idle. Had a vibration! Did some checks, including double checking everthing I did. Called them up, they e-mailed a return auth BOL prepaid bothways. (chicago to kent, wash & back). They got it back & found the crank they put in it from a vendor wasn't balanced properly. New engine back & installed, 60+ hrs the guy loves it! I gave it to him late afternoon 6/3/11. Did the "break-in oil change" the morning of 6/5/11. That was like 11.8 hrs.
Click to expand...

Curious, how did they satisfy the labor warranty? Pay you a set hour rate for remove and replace and pay for or include any new gaskets, etc?

While it is good that they handled it quickly, being the 1st to post purchasing from them, and having an issue, not so much.
 
greg82255

greg82255

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Messages
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Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

I'll see if I can get a dyno sheet from them. It doesn't make sense that they can get 420 hp using stock parts, and the 383's with vortec heads and a roller cam/roller rockers aren't even at 400. Also I haven't been able to find any references.
 
P

Pete104

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Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

They wanted the engine back "complete" ready to drop in & run. I had painted everything before I fired it up, so it black, w/blue plugs wires & some yellow "bling" on a couple items. Came back w/new chain cover gasket & pan gasket. Never inquired about labor for in & out. Frankly, I had spent so much time on the old engine (350 Mag) with 1846 hrs on it, I was glad to it go!
 
J

John_S

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Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

greg82255 said:
I'll see if I can get a dyno sheet from them. It doesn't make sense that they can get 420 hp using stock parts, and the 383's with vortec heads and a roller cam/roller rockers aren't even at 400. Also I haven't been able to find any references.
Click to expand...

From a comparison standpoint, Merc's 377 (6.2L, no 0.030 over) Black Scorpion is rated at 350HP @ prop (5200rpms). Their vortec 383 should be somewhat close to that. My guess on their standard 383, 320HP @ prop, or more equivelent to Merc's 6.2L MPI.

If their dyno sheets show 420hp, they are gaming it.
 
greg82255

greg82255

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Messages
781
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

Well for this engine that is advertised at 420 HP, which is probably BS, it costs $2395. From US Engines I can get a 350 hp 383 for $2695 and a 400 hp 383 for $3295. I think it's probably worth the extra money to get it from a reputable company.

http://www.usengine.us/mercruiser.html
 
K

krisnowicki

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Messages
1,172
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

From Their Warranty:
MARINE 7 YEARS, UNLIMITED HOURS, WITH A MAXIMUM LABOR COVERAGE OF $300.00 (NO EXCEPTIONS).

Does not cover
H. BROKEN CRANKSHAFTS OR DAMAGE TO THRUST BEARINGS.

K. OIL SEAL LEAKS ARE WARRANTED FOR 30 DAYS. (NO EXCEPTIONS) DEFECTIVE OIL SEALS MUST BE RETUNED TO THE MANUFACTURER FOR INSPECTION BEFORE ANY LABOR CLAIM WILL BE CONSIDERED.

L. OIL AND WATER GALLEY PLUGS ARE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY AFTER INSTALLATION. THESE PLUGS SHOULD BE INSPECTED PRIOR TO INSTALLATION. (NO EXCEPTIONS).

and for repairs you get a whopping:
ANY WARRANTY CLAIMS PAID ARE BASED ON $35.00 PER HOUR MITCHELL FLAT RATE AND WILL ONLY BE PAID TO CERTIFIED REPAIR FACILITIES WITH A VALID EIN NUMBER. ALL OTHER WARRANTY CLAIMS SUCH AS SELF INSTALLATION OR MECHANICS WITHOUT A VALID EIN NUMBER WILL BE REIMBURSED AT THE RATE OF $20.00 PER HOUR Under no circumstances shall the warranty claim exceed the cost of the engine.
 
H

HT32BSX115

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Dec 8, 2005
Messages
10,083
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

If you want ANY support from ANY machine shop, you really should find a local one. That way you can take the entire boat over and let them "look" at it if there's a problem.

If there's labor to remove and replace, they will probably offer to do it.

Anytime you have to pay someone to R&R and ship thousands of miles, it's always gonna be a LOT HARDER


There's NO free lunch......:rolleyes:
 
S

StevNimrod

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Dec 13, 2008
Messages
343
Re: Remanufactured 383 Question

What Rick said! Nothing beats dealing locally when you have problems. Reputations are more easily damaged by sticking it to a local guy.

On a side note - warranties are just words on paper. Almost all of them have "outs" that gets the company off the hook for almost anything that can go wrong.

It reminds me of a guy locally that does transmission work. His warranty section on his site reads, in part: "No warranty... if you're scared, don't have me build it." Of course, he's booked through the end of this year, does excellent work, and will treat you fair if something he did results in a failure. But he doesn't have to sell his work on a warranty because his work sells itself.
 
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